# Looking for a "Salsa Fresca" or "Pico de Gallo" recipe.



## RGD (May 10, 2006)

I'm not sure if I am looking for a "Salsa Fresca" or "Pico de Gallo" to be honest here.

The deal is this - last year I had a party for the employees here at my home - and being as most of them are Guatemalan, some brought some excellent side dishes and what not. When cleaning up I noticed this container of "Salsa" that proved to excellent.
I'm telling you that for the entire week I ate this stuff on everything - tacos, as a dip, on hot dogs, hamburgers, steak - you name it - I was in love. Problem is I never could find out who brought it and how to make it. Been on a search every since.

Now it looked kinda like the picture below - except it was diced more finely and I swear it either had scallions or chives in it. It had a crisp clean taste to it and not a lot of juice which was clear.

Sooooo - anybody got any ideas and/or recipes that might be what I'm looking for?????


Thanks - 


Ron


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

Looks like Pico to me. Tomato, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro (the way I make it). The cilantro is the "crisp" you were referring to. People like it different ways. To start,

1 tomato
1 bell pepper
1 onion
1 jalapeno
a little sqirt of lime
and some cilantro leaves

Adjust it from there, removing and adding to your tastes.


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## chacmol73 (Jul 26, 2007)

So, you say a lot of the employees are from Guatemala..... first was it spicy.

If not it was most likely Chirmol the basic one I have made, taught to me by my grandma, is 
-two cups of diced tomatoes
-1/2 cup of diced onions or chives (or a combination of both)
-1/4 cup of water
-a table spoon of cilantro (I know of some folks that use oregano)
- to 3 limes
-salt to taste.

Blend 1 cup of the tomatoes, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Now, if it was spicy it was most likely a Pico de Gallo.

-=C


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## Guitarman-S.T- (Jun 14, 2006)

chacmol73 said:


> So, you say a lot of the employees are from Guatemala..... first was it spicy.
> 
> If not it was most likely Chirmol the basic one I have made, taught to me by my grandma, is
> -two cups of diced tomatoes
> ...


pm me if your interested in my own personal fresh batch recipe
( i dont post in public... SImply too good and always performs well, aided in many local chili cook off's back home  )


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## technodaddy (Jul 16, 2007)

OK, this is a bit complicated but trust me it is worth the effort. always use fresh!!!! you can dice for the chunky style or use a food processor for faster results.

(only know how to make in big batches)

15 to 20 jalopenos
10 to 12 roma tomatoes
3 bundles of green onions(bout 15)
lots of garlic (10 to 15 )
5 radishes
1 large carrot
3 stalks of celery
2 large lemons(juice only)
6 key limes(juice only)
1 handful of celiantro

cut up but in BIG mixing bowl then add....

1/2 cup good EV olive oil(yes trust me)
black pepper to taste
season salt to taste
1 table spoon of cumin
salt to taste

If all goes well and the peppers are hot, You have some of the best HOT salsa around. 
My experience is the hotter it is the faster people eat it.(they complain its hot, but eat it up)

Let me know what you all think.
:dr


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## rusty pittis (Jun 8, 2007)

wow...definitely have to try that one...how does it fair after trying to can it??? does it still have great taste or does it lose the flavors and such???...i have 36 tomato plants and 18 pepper plants..jalapeno,hungarian hot wax and bell peppers so i have plenty of that stuff to make a few batches


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2007)

cquon said:


> Looks like Pico to me. Tomato, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro (the way I make it). The cilantro is the "crisp" you were referring to. People like it different ways. To start,
> 
> 1 tomato
> 1 bell pepper
> ...


Ron

Judging from your picture, I think cquon has it pretty much on the money. I would think it is definitely a Pico, and the above recipe pretty much nails simple, clean and crisp. You can easily customize cquon's recipe by adding different peppers, and changing proportions. I actually add a add a couple of different peppers and vary the lime and cilantro to taste. Scallions and/or chives work, but you would need to check the amount of onion you add. Consider some Vidalia or other sweet onions, and you can get away with more onions (always a plus for me!)


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## Ivory Tower (Nov 18, 2005)

My preference would be to omit any bell peppers or just add a scant amount. And cilantro stems are just as good as the leaves in salsa. Don't use the very ends of the stems because they tend to get tough, but the middle portion contains great flavor, adds texture, and doesn't detract from the appearance of salsa. (Maybe a scallion or chive lookalike?)


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## Twill413 (Jul 19, 2006)

SvilleKid said:


> Consider some Vidalia or other sweet onions, and you can get away with more onions (always a plus for me!)


I use this recipe and play with it depending on who it's for and how much I need, but like you said I pretty much put it on everything, including mac and cheese (oh yea)

circa 2.5 lbs of romas +/-
smallest white onion I can find
smallest red onion I can find (love onions and the sweetness is tasty)
cilantro
1 habanero
1 jalapeno
4-5 cloves garlic
juice of half a lemon
juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste (depending how fresh the tomatoes are, you need more salt)
two diced avocados (as small as you can get em, the fat from these makes the salsa IMO)

I have tried things like adding red pepper flakes, a couple dashes of tequila, some EVOO, all with varying results. But this is my go to recipe. It's hot, but not too hot to taste all the veggies.


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## RGD (May 10, 2006)

cquon said:


> Looks like Pico to me. Tomato, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro (the way I make it). The cilantro is the "crisp" you were referring to.


I don't have a clue as to what "cilantro" is but will have to look for it!



chacmol73 said:


> So, you say a lot of the employees are from Guatemala..... first was it spicy.


Was not spicy at all - well to my taste anyway. I love spice and hot - just don't like pain or the hot sauce to take away from the food flavors.



technodaddy said:


> OK, this is a bit complicated but trust me it is worth the effort. always use fresh!!!! you can dice for the chunky style or use a food processor for faster results.
> 
> (only know how to make in big batches)


LOL - that's a recipe to feed an Army!



SvilleKid said:


> Ron
> 
> Judging from your picture, I think cquon has it pretty much on the money. I would think it is definitely a Pico, and the above recipe pretty much nails simple, clean and crisp.


The picture is just one that I found. Was looking for something else when I saw it. But yeah - clean and crisp is the best I can describe it.



Twill413 said:


> I use this recipe and play with it depending on who it's for and how much I need, but like you said I pretty much put it on everything, including mac and cheese (oh yea)


And I'm serious - I put it on everything for that week. The wife put her foot down though when she saw me getting ready to put it on my Wheaties - LOL

Thanks everyone for the recipes - am not familiar with cilantro so maybe that's what I was confusing with the scallions or chives. If anyone else has any along these lines - post them up as I plan on trying them all!

Thanks,

Ron


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